So much for that whole “post over here more” resolution. I told you I was bad at keeping them :P  Instead I bring you a bit of humor for the day.

So another year has come and gone and it’s that time where we all put pen to paper, keystrokes to electrons or mental effort to the mental filing cabinet and we make our resolutions.  I used to do a laundry list of 100 things to accomplish in the year of X, but seeing how I never really worked at them any more than I have other resolutions, I’ve decided to make a short and sweet list of things I hope to accomplish this year.

In 2009 I hope to:

1. Travel more with Chris
2. Be more comfortable in my own skin
3. Continue to work towards improving my body and my health
4. Have a fantastic, outstanding, stage-walking year for my Mary Kay Business
5. Get our puppy (finally)

I’m sure there are a lot more “things” I hope to accomplish this year, however instead of trying to wrack my brain to come up with them all in one day, I’m going to choose to make them up as I go along and see where life takes me this year.

Hope you all have a wonderful new year and can always manage to find the beauty in each day, each hour, each moment that you spend alive.

So a little funny for you all. This is how my cat Logan seems to feel about taking a bath… Make sure your sound is on kinda loud ;)

The analysis indicates that the author of Concrete and Grace is of the type:

ESFP - The Performers

You know, I’m dumbfounded. While I might question or not understand how someone could vote for one candidate or another, I try to keep the name calling and mud slinging to a minimum and stick to facts and my own interpretations of what the candidates put out there, say and do.

Fast forward to tonight, when I found out that because I don’t share (however still respect) the majority of my friends’ opinion on who should be our next president I am now apparently: stupid, retarded, inept, shitty, incompetent, a whack-job, nut case and many other expletives I choose not to repeat in my blog. Oh and the big one that irks the living DAYLIGHTS out of me and is beyond offensive. We’ll leave it at that.  Even in jest, frustration or whatever that kind of crap is uncalled for. And don’t get me started on how NEGATIVE this entire campaign season has been across the boards from the national elections all the way down to the local elections. All the mudslinging from both sides disgusts me and makes me less enamored with any candidate no matter their record.

Fact of the matter is I don’t have to agree with the “majority” within my circle of friends (but perhaps I should reevaluate who I associate with, hmmm?) on 100% of the issues all the time any more than I have to agree with a candidates specific stance on all the issues or any of them agree with my point of view 24/7. However, I’d like to think I do share a level of respect for all of those people whose beliefs differ from my own and would like to assume I could share that same amount of respect back at me. But I’m finding that’s not the case.

I don’t go waving my banner proclaiming which party I align with, choosing a “don’t ask, don’t tell” type of policy when it comes to politics for the most part, perhaps letting my guard down a bit when I know I’m surrounded by like-minded people, or even those that have proven to have a level head while having a difference of opinion. I hate the frothing at the mouth, rabid and acerbic “debates” that people get into and how easily the attacks becomes personal  instead of focusing on issues and policies the closer it gets to a major election. Especially one as monumental as this.

I’m not looking for anyone to change my mind about my political stance any more than I’m looking to change that of someone else. It’s a personal decision and each person comes at the issues with a different and diverse point of view. But I’d love to have an honest to God discussion with people of different viewpoints without it dissolving to a knock down, drag out cage match filled with name calling and finger pointing.

I’d just like to not get called out on the carpet or labeled with nasty words and names. Can’t we all just get along?

So yeah, that cat just cracks me up. Hey Higgs, it’s your tail!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!

Yeah, we’re totally becoming Surly Brewing Co. fankids, I know.

But hey, we want to take advantage of all the Darkness out there on tap before we have to start breaking into our bottles at home. So tonight was the “Official” release party of Surly’s Darkness over on the U of MN campus at Stub & Herbs.

We got there a little late (ok, an hour late) because I had a Mary Kay appointment that night and got caught up in all that jazz. At least Chris was nice enough to wait for me to go and didn’t leave me behind. When we finally got over there, after I got all disoriented because I hadn’t been on campus in over 10 years really, we managed to snag a parking place right in back of the bar. That in itself should have been a miracle, because the place was PACKED. The entire patio was filled, the bar was hot, cramped and full of people wearing Surly gear and the back room while cooler was also quite filled.

We managed as we passed the bar to grab our first beers of the night, a Darkness for me and a Coffee Bender for Chris. We grabbed a table in that back room and ordered some food since neither of us had eaten much all day. While we were back there a table full of people and a guy in a blue Surly brewer’s shirt were passing around a 7-week old baby. As I was talking to the baby’s mom I found out that she was Omar’s wife. Who’s Omar you ask? Well he’s one of the founders/owners of Surly Brewing Co. and one of the nicest, most down to earth guys I could have imagined meeting. For some reason I had built him up a bit in my head to have some kind of “celebrity” status, thankfully I couldn’t have been more wrong. Chris managed to snap some pictures of the baby who was adorable in his little pumpkin snuggler/onesie.

We ended up getting another beer a piece, a Surly Cynic for me and a Tyranena’s Rocky’s Revenge for Chris. While I thoroughly enjoyed my second beer, Chris not so much. Since he was driving, I convinced him (not that he needed much help) to not drink the rest.  When we were ready to go, we headed for the door but I stopped at Omar’s table to thank him for the great beer he’s creating which lead to a good 10 or 15 minute converstation with him as he let us in on upcoming events involving Surly beers and said he hoped to run into us again soon.

All in all a pretty good night, even if the food was greasy and salty and made me get up in the middle of the night thinking I was dying in the desert of thirst.

Ok, so we decided to head out to St. Paul tonight to the Groveland Tap to grab a glass of Darkness on tap before breaking into our, ok Chris’, bottle stash if we didn’t like it…..

OMFG. Darkness = Beergasm.

No kidding. I TOTALLY see what all the hype is about now. Damn. Unbelieveably good beer. And GT’s Juicy Lucy’s + fries were pretty damn kick ass too.

Why didn’t we move to St. Paul when we moved here again?